The Deal
by Adler96
Summary: Eliza stared at herself in the gold-adorned mirror. She looked absolutely stunning, it was a shame it had to be wasted on such a solemn occasion.


Eliza stared at herself in the gold adorned mirror. She wore a simple, yet flattering white dress. The silky fabric ran down her arms, around her curves, and enveloped her pale legs, pooling around feet. She looked absolutely stunning, it was a shame it had to be wasted on such a solemn occasion.

The large wooden door behind Eliza quietly popped open. Mrs. Hughes stuck her head into the opening and smiled at the young nanny. It had been a god-save that Eliza had even found such a position at her age, never mind that it had been at Downton. At the time it had seemed like a miracle, but now-now she wasn't quite so sure.

Mrs. Hughes entered the room, her smile extending to her eyes. "Oh my darling! You look beautiful!"

Eliza turned from where she stood and gave the housekeeper a sad smile. "If only it had been under better circumstances."

"It's not too late." Mrs. Hughes walked across the forest green carpet and laid a hand on Eliza's shoulder. "We can cancel the wedding."

"I'm afraid it is too late. Without Mr. Barrow, without this marriage, my brother will lose our family's farm. It's the only way."

"If you ask me your brother is old enough to deal with his own repercussions. Besides, he's already caused you enough problems to last a lifetime." Mrs. Hughes set to work, pulling Eliza's long blonde hair into a tight bun and pinning a shoulder length, lace veil into the curls.

"I know. It's just-well, I made only one promise to my mother before she died; to take care of my baby brother. I plan on keeping that promise."

Mrs. Hughes let out a sigh. "I doubt your mother would have wanted this, but I admire your conviction."

A soft knock resounded through the quiet room.

"Come in." Eliza called. The look of surprise that passed through Mrs. Hughes features represented perfectly what Eliza felt rushing through her body. Tom Branson slipped through the door, carrying a pink clad Sybil.

At the sight of her nanny, Sybbie squirmed her way out of her father's grasp and raced across the carpet flinging her chubby arms up to Eliza. For the first time that day, a genuine smile crossed her face as she picked up the little girl. It had been six years since Sybbie had lost her mother. Eliza had only seen pictures of Lady Branson but Eliza imagined her daughter to be just like her: carefree yet loving.

"Oh! I'm sorry if I am intruding." Branson said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I can come back later."

"No! No, actually I was just leaving. Come on Lady Sybil, why don't we see if Mrs. Pattmore will give us some cake." Mrs. Hughes gave Eliza a sad smile and gently grabbed the little girl from her arms before slipping past Tom and out of the room.

"Wow, Eliza, you look-look-I mean, there's no words to describe how amazing you look!" Tom stammered.

"Tom, what are you doing here?" Eliza asked. She felt the tears begin to well up behind her eyes. No! She would not cry here, not now.

Tom walked to the vase of flowers that stood on a wooden table behind Eliza. He grabbed one of the pink petals and rubbed it carefully between his fingers. "I knew you would ask that. On the way over here I was trying to figure out what the answer would be. I came up with, 'Sybbie absolutely adores you and wanted to see your wedding'. There was also something about, 'It is my duty as a friend of your family to watch over you and by coming here, I'm doing just that.' I mean, both of those reasons are true but as I was pondering the idea, I realized that they were just not as true as they needed to be."

The chauffeur turned lord looked at Eliza, his blues eyes twinkling in the dim light. "Do you remember, when we were growing up back in Ireland? Do you remember the river that flowed behind our houses?"

Eliza nodded her head, "The one you almost drowned in? What about it?"

Tom chuckled. "Yea, that one. Do you remember that day Sadie died? The day we walked down to the river to bury her?"

"Yes, Tom, I remember the day we went to bury your frog. Now, please, just get to the point. You're making me antsy with these questions!"

"You never did have any patience." Tom said with a smile. "Alright, I will get to the point, but just one more question. Do you remember what I promised you?"

Eliza froze, she felt the urge to cry renewed. "You...you promised that once you had enough money to buy a house, you promised to marry me."

Tom suddenly crossed the room and grasped Eliza's face between his warm hands. He leaned his forehead against hers and when he spoke, he spoke in a whisper. "Eliza, I came to talk you out of this madness. I know you're marrying Thomas to help Roger but this isn't the only way."

Eliza gripped Tom's wrists and closed her eyes, tears escaping down her cheeks. "But I just can't see any other way. Besides, I made a promise to Thomas and he needs this marriage just as much as I do."

Tom pulled back and with gentle fingers, wiped away the stray tears. "Thomas is a fool and whatever trouble he got himself into he deserves. He doesn't need this marriage just as you don't. Eliza, I asked you once before and I'll ask you again."

Tom took a step back and grasped one of Eliza's small hands in his own. He slowly kneeled to the ground until he rested on his left foot and right knee. "Eliza O'Neil, will you leave this damned church with me and give me the pleasure of becoming my wife?"

Eliza let out of sad laugh. "Where would we go, Tom? Where would we live? You barely managed become a member of the Crowley family and their daughter was madly in love with you! What about me? Tom, they keep you around because they know they would never be able to see Sybbie again if you left."

"We'll move back to Ireland!" Tom said quickly, returning to his feet. "I have enough money saved up, we could buy our own farm. Sybbie can have just a good a life as any Crowley family could offer."

"They won't let you leave with Sybbie. They will use whatever they can, money or their friends in high places, to make sure she stays under that roof."

"They're not like that!"

"You would be surprised what people will do if they believe they are going to lose the one they love."

Tom's shoulders sagged and he bowed his head. "There's nothing I can say to talk you out of this, is there?"

Eliza shook her head. "No."

Tom looked up, his familiar grin returning to his face. He cupped Eliza's face in his hands once more and laid a kiss on her forehead. "Thomas is a lucky man. It's too bad he doesn't deserve such luck."

And with that, Tom left the room. Eliza grabbed her arms, running her fingers up the lace fabric. Whatever force that had kept her will strong, suddenly left her body. She let the sobs rack her body, no longer attempting to hold them back.

Mrs. Hughes handed Eliza a small bouquet of flowers. The flowers had by no means the glory that Mary or Edith's bouquets had, but Eliza had never before imagined carrying a even a single flower down the aisle. Why waste money on flowers when you could buy the newlyweds a cow which they could support themselves on for years? Mr. Carson stood next to Eliza and offered his elbow to her. Eliza accepted the offer and laid her hand onto his arm.

She let Mr. Carson lead her under a stone archway and into the main room of the church. She was met by the smiling faces of her fellow servants. Daisy had the biggest grin of all. She had been one of the first that Eliza had extended her friendship to and the pair knew just about everything about each other. Well, Daisy didn't know that Eliza was absolutely dreading this day. She didn't know that Eliza was secretly and hopelessly in love with Tom Branson. But Daisy had enough problems without Eliza heaping hers onto the young girl's shoulders.

Anna and Mr. Bates were next in line. Anna held out a hand and Eliza took hold of it. Anna gave her a reassuring squeeze and let go. Mrs. Hughes gave Eliza an encouraging smile and if it had been proper to give the young nanny a thumbs up sign, she totally would have.

And then, then there was Branson. His face was void of any emotions from their earlier conversation, but his eyes no longer held the shine that they once had. Sybbie smiled brightly, entranced with the beauty that had been laid upon her nanny. Mrs. Pattmore clasped her hands in front of her. She had complained about making a cake for the occasion, but Eliza knew she was secretly pleased that Eliza had asked her instead of going to the town baker.

Last but not least stood the man she would spend the rest of her days with. He black hair had been slicked back, making his sharp features seem more defined. To any outsider, the way Thomas stretched his lips would have been taken as a smile. A smile that showed how much devotion and love he had for the young blonde. But Eliza knew the truth. Eliza knew how he really felt. This wedding was as much for him and for her, but this-this was unbearable. Thomas was actually enjoying her pain. Thomas knew her feelings for Branson and it had given him great delight to see the before said attend this little gathering. No, the way those lips stretched across those cold features could only be described as a cruel smirk of victory.

Thomas had won this battle and he was sure to never let any of them forget it.

**Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! I'm think of making this story longer but I can't decide. Let me know what you think! Reviews are appreciated! **


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